Finished up open water classes and I am really Bummed out.

[TMHeimer]

Running engineering casualty control drills in the Navy taught me something that has really helped in SCUBA and other aspects of life: there is very little that can go wrong where taking *instant* action will gain you enough to be worth more than taking a few seconds to figure out the *right* action. About the only thing I can think of in SCUBA diving that needs nearly immediate response is an uncontrolled ascent. Pretty much everything else won't be made any worse if you take 5 or 10 seconds to figure out what you really should do, rather than doing what your reflexes want you to do.

Great advice. I have no experience such as your casualty control drills (other than my Rescue/DM training of course). I have been in a half dozen less than perfect situations while diving (current, cramps, unexpected exits, etc.). First thing I managed to do was as taught in OW Course: stop, think, act. First part of that was always check exactly how much air I have and then proceed to figure what the best option is. You should never be in a situation where you are low on air when something unexpected happens. The main thing is air--gives you plenty of time to stay calm and figure it out.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

The OODA loop is universal and can all note where "ACT" is in the acronym.

 

[mhattenhauer]

I was glad I was following this thread. I had my first 2 OW dives yesterday, and on the second I got choked. For a split second I almost bolted, but before I could I remembered this thread. I calmed myself and coughed a bit and was fine. So glad I didn't bolt. Now I'm setting at the lake getting ready for my next two dives.

 

[TSandM]

For a split second I almost bolted, but before I could I remembered this thread. I calmed myself and coughed a bit and was fine. So glad I didn't bolt

I'm always SO glad to read posts like this, and realize this board, and the time we spend on it, does help people.

 

[Diver0001]

I am bummed out.. Now I know I am learning but have always strived to be the best at what I do

Let me just put this in perspective in a couple of ways for you that I think might help. It may sound confrontational but bear with me and read the whole post because I am actually trying to help.

First of all, you are not the best diver. I know that sounds harsh but I'm saying it to shake you out of an illusion. No student, anywhere, ever, came out of basic diving training and was the best diver. There is a very simple reason for this. In order to be the best you need a royal fK-ton of experience and you can never have that coming out of basic training.

My old Kung-fu teacher used to give us a pep-talk about this very topic before every tournament. He would say to us, "the only difference between wining and losing is WHO SHOWED UP". What he meant is that everything is relative. We would get out there, stomp the guts out every opponent we were matched with and if we didn't make it to the medal rounds he would say, "your opponent was very good".

Read that again..... he did NOT say "you sucked"...... he said, "your opponent was very good". See the difference? You are as good as you are at that moment in time regardless of whether you win or lose. He expected us to go deep and give everything (believe me, I've been taken off the mat more than once unconscious or too injured to keep fighting) but when the fight was over, he was MOST proud that we brought our very best game and didn't back down regardless of who we were facing.

The lesson here being : don't be so hard on yourself. You took a diving course to learn something..... well guess what, you LEARNED something. That's the goal of the course, that's why you're there and you're doing yourself a disservice to beat yourself up about that...... As one perfectionist to another, let me say, I totally get it, but you need to back WAY off and give yourself some room to make a mistake because mistakes are the fertile learning grounds. Success feels better but you learn more from mistakes.

Given your drive, I have not doubt in my mind whatsoever that you will eventually become an outstanding diver. If you're not there just yet fine. Take it one dive at a time and keep that drive alive.... but don't let it grow into a frustration because (to employ a car metaphor) "drive" is the gas, but "frustration" is the brakes. If you want to drive across country, you'll never get there with one foot on the brakes.

R..

 

[Frosty]

helter skelter--Im guessing by the general tone of this entire thread you get the message not to be bummed out.

 

[PantherDiver]

I agree with all the replies that talk about remembering to practice your basic skills no matter how far advanced you become. Also practice and often especially in between times you're not able to dive.

My OW course I struggled with breathing underwater without a mask. The feeling of panic would start building. I spent weeks in the pool swimming without a mask in all sorts of positions until I didn't panic.

During one of my first OW dives I started to fall backward and for some reason I didn't have my regulator in my mouth. I reached for my SS1 on my left side but in my haste and inexperience I grabbed my snorkel. Thankfully my instructor was quick to push it away as he shoved his regulator in my mouth. Never a good feeling knowing I was a breath away from sucking in a deep lung full of water. It's stuck with me since and I am always hesitant when I breath after switching regulators etc. I think everyone here has one of those moments. Stick with it and congrats on completing your course!

 

[Mike126]

As you've read, we've all had some issues with our drills. I had problems breathing without a mask for years. Until one day I spent 30 mins in the pool practicing it until I learned how to gently sip air off my regulator. Now it's no problem.

When you have a real free flow you can always go to your octopus.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Moonfish17]

I'm always SO glad to read posts like this, and realize this board, and the time we spend on it, does help people.

I completely agree. So far I have only done 2 pool sessions on my OW course and surfaced twice due to inhaling water - which is such a scary feeling! But it's reassuring to learn from you guys that it's possible to cough through it and stay calm. I will definitely remember this whenever I am in the water.

 

[Doby45]

I finished up my pool work this weekend and will be doing my check dives next weekend. I had a some what similar incident in the pool and literally from reading this forum aced my incident.

I was doing the mask clearing drill and started the tilt backwards prior to starting the air out the nose and I got a really good splash back into my throat. As soon as it happened the terra firma instinct was kicking me in the head telling me to get my butt to the surface. But from reading this forum I STOPPED and THOUGHT and took a breath and was like "Whoa, I am alive; breathing and that bit of water did not kill me!" So I finished the clearing drill and we surfaced. Once on the surface the instructor got close to me and told me that he saw that I had sucked water because of my instinctual jerk/twitch and he said he just KNEW I was going to jet to the top, but he instead said that he was very proud and was happier to see the control and thought process than the drill by the numbers. After that I purposely did nothing but mask removal, donning and clearing drills whenever we were given a moment.